How Trump could keep global tariffs alive even if the Supreme Court strikes them down

Trump’s options include resorting to Depression-era Smoot-Hawley tariffs.

President Donald Trump has warned that the United States will be rendered “defenseless” and possibly “reduced to almost Third World status” if the Supreme Court strikes down the tariffs he imposed this year on nearly every country on earth.

The justices sounded skeptical during oral arguments Wednesday of his sweeping claims of authority to impose tariffs as he sees fit.

The truth, though, is that Trump will still have plenty of options to keep taxing imports aggressively even if the court rules against him. He can re-use tariff powers he deployed in his first term and can reach for others, including one that dates back to the Great Depression.